ALONG with WA's farmers, the State's Agriculture and Food Minister has confirmed she was left out of the loop in regards to the live export panel's community consultation sessions, saying she was only informed of the meetings late on Sunday afternoon.
Speaking at an announcement at the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) in Perth yesterday, Minister Jackie Jarvis said she had expressed her disappointment to Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt around the lack of notice provided to the State's farmers and industry stakeholders for them to attend the community meetings and that "she would have liked to have been a bit more involved" in the consultation sessions.
"The Federal government has organised these discussions and my understanding is the communication has been less than ideal," Ms Jarvis said.
"I only found out about the sessions late Sunday afternoon my calendar was already full, so I haven't been to any of the sessions.
"I guess they are pushing up against some timelines they really want to get a report to the Federal government by August or September."
Mr Watt appointed an independent panel earlier this year to consult with key stakeholders on Labor's proposal to phase out the live sheep trade, but not within this term of government.
The four-person panel, chaired by Phillip Glyde, includes former federal minister Warren Snowdon, Moora farmer Sue Middleton and former RSPCA chief executive officer Heather Neil.
However the panel's consultation process has been labelled as a farce by many in the industry, with the community meetings poorly advertised and minimal notice provided to farmers, making it difficult for them to attend and have their voices heard on the proposed phase out of the live sheep trade.
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The Nationals WA member for the Central Wheatbelt Mia Davies called on the Federal government to add more dates to the live export panel's regional consultation tour on Wednesday, saying the panel needed to visit the eastern Wheatbelt.
"The dates were announced with very little notice, right in the middle of seeding, and ignored the eastern wheatbelt completely," Ms Davies said.
"I personally believe the forums are just a tick and flick exercise for the Labor government to say they consulted, but if they're going to do it, they should do it properly and give the people they're ripping a business out from under the chance to have their say."
Despite this Ms Jarvis said she was pleased the meetings had still been well attended by WA growers this week.
She encouraged the State's sheep producers who were unable to attend this week's scheduled meetings to have their say online through the Federal of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.
UPDATED COMMENTS from the Agriculture and Food Minister...
Ms Jarvis told Farm Weekly on Wednesday afternoon she had conveyed her concerns around the regional meetings to Minister Watt on Tuesday evening.
"Minister Watt advised me that the panel began inviting regional grower groups and industry representatives to the meetings two weeks ago, with others invited more recently," Ms Jarvis said.
"He also advised that the panel did not originally intend these meetings to be large 'town hall' style events.
"I note the panel chair has now acknowledged issues in how the meetings were arranged, and has committed to further engagement with farmers - which I welcome.
"My office was informed of the panel's intention to hold a regional roadshow in Western Australia but not any specific details.
"This information was not passed onto me and I was not formally invited to the meetings - as they were aimed at industry groups."
Ms Jarvis said at no point had the WA Government been part of these proceedings.
"I thank WA producers for taking the time to engage with the panel, and I will continue to stand up for our industry," Ms Jarvis said.
